For the team management, it is a choice between a younger man's (Sarfaraz) flamboyance and fearlessness versus a seasoned campaigner who has been a Test captain and is part of the national set-up for a decade now.
Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant and pacer Mohammed Siraj too faced local bowlers and significant amount of throwdowns.
The wicket-keeper-batter's comeback to cricket has been nothing sort of miraculous. He could barely walk around a year back but hours and hours of relentless rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy helped him make a remarkable comeback to cricket earlier this year in the IPL.
One cycle refers to three seasons between mega auctions, meaning Russell is aiming to stay with KKR well into his 40s if form and fitness permit.
Mumbai Indians extended their remarkable winning streak to six matches with a 100-run rout of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2025 match in Jaipur on Thursday.
The common theme in their opening game defeats was how the seemingly powerful batting and bowling units of KKR and RR failed to fire.
The common theme in those defeats was how the seemingly powerful batting and bowling units of KKR and RR failed to fire.
India will be under tremendous pressure when they face an equally circumspect Australia in a battle of two out-of-form batting units in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth
The squad also features Karun Nair, who returns to the national set up after a long gap of eight years.
While the pace department needs some urgent solutions, the spin has a slightly different landscape.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will aim to turn their fortunes around at home when they face a struggling Rajasthan Royals on Thursday in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
On Sunday, he did well to kill the notion that left arm spinners are not effective against left arm batters as he clearly took out the Rajasthan southpaws for his first two wickets.
In a league where death-overs mastery often dictates success, Avesh Khan has undoubtedly elevated his stature. Jaipur witnessed a cricketing miracle, and he was its architect.
Punjab Kings will look to renew their bid for a play-off berth with another commanding performance in Jaipur on Sunday against Rajasthan Royals, who have failed to rise above mediocrity despite possessing the resources this season.
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson says he is still not over Jos Buttler leaving the team and wishes the IPL would change its rule of releasing players every three years.
Rajasthan Royals' coach Kumar Sangakkara backs the Assamese all-rounder to repay the team's faith in him.
High-flying Rajasthan Royals will look to continue their winning momentum and consolidate their position at the top when they take on a resurgent Lucknow Super Giants, who would be gunning for revenge at home in an IPL match in Lucknow on Saturday.
Ravindra Jadeja continued his renaissance as a batter, delivering his best-ever outing during the recent Test series in England and joining a list of legends
Beginning with the Eden T20I, the two teams will fight it out in a full white ball series, comprising five T20Is and three ODIs, which will serve as a crucial warm-up for the Champions Trophy, slated to begin on February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.
Joe Root produced a batting masterclass on way to a milestone 38th hundred as England exploited a jaded Indian bowling attack to stamp their dominance on the fourth Test in Manchester.
The MP batter registered four single digit scores in the six innings he has played so far. The 30 year old registered scores of 32, 9, 5, 0, 17 and 0.
Rohit and the team management will also have to keep some of the young talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel wrapped in cotton wool after experiencing some early success in top-flight cricket.
An injury-plagued India could be forced to depart from their preferred template when they takes on a reinvigorated England in the fourth Test starting in Manchester on Wednesday.
India's bid to win a 17th consecutive home Test series, however, hinges on the success of their three-pronged spin attack comprising Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
India's young guns are fearless and mentally hardened by the IPL exposure. But true mettle will be tested when adversity strikes -- and this time, there will be no Kohli to stir up the crowd, no Rohit to deliver a captaincy masterstroke, and no Ashwin to conjure wickets out of nowhere.
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke believes India is in "safe hands" and has "enough talent" to trounce England, but it will all come down to how the young-looking squad will leave a mark in the series on a territory known for being "tough".
Mumbai Indians have once again made a familiar disappointing start to their IPL campaign as they lost their first two matches.
Saha said a cricketer should treat every match with equal importance citing his own example.
'It's gruelling. Playing a five-match series is not easy. That's what Test cricket is all about.'
How the India Test regulars and discards fared over the first two days in the opening round matches of Duleep Trophy.
'Virat and Rohit not playing (Duleep Trophy) was not good for Indian cricket, nor was it good for the two players. Had they played the Duleep Trophy and had some time in the red-ball cricket, things would have been different.'
Rohit's numbers with the willow has been a bit underwhelming during the five home Tests but those were played on difficult tracks.
The BCCI secretary is the convenor of the senior selection committee (men) and with Shah busy with his political commitments, it is understood that the meeting will be held in Ahmedabad.
A state association official said Ranji Trophy runs the risk of 'a slow death if it was not made mandatory for top players to compete'.
India were handed a five-run penalty for a second offence of their batters running on the middle of the pitch during Day 2 of the the third Test.
India may not be contemplating life after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli just yet but the robust display of their fringe players against England will have eased any fears about how they will cope when the old guard steps aside.
India will ponder whether they want to include Washington Sundar, who is quite handy with the bat or Kuldeep Yadav, who is a much better wicket-taking option.
Delhi Capitals mentor Kevin Pietersen believes that KL Rahul is the best option to bat at number four and keep wickets for India in the next T20 World Cup.
